Protesters from across U.S. arrested at Utah tar sands mine

Comments

I guess they (protesters) would rather have people standing in line to beg for a
handout from the government and not allowed them to have jobs to support
themselves. I guess we'll just have to keep on making Saudi Arabia wealthy
and keep their jobs pumping their oil to sell it to us.

dale richardsGreen River, Utah

July 25, 2014 8:49 a.m.

I MET

I can see wind power, solar power in your place of residence,
no tv, no cell phone etc.Oh, but you do have a computer made from an oil
by product.

lketBluffdale, UT

July 23, 2014 11:46 a.m.

why cant this company get with it and convert to wind power, or tidal power, and
solar. all cheap and total profit after in place. ivestment now could make them
the powers of the future but short sight for profits now willl keep poisoning
our earth. this is the most dirty form of oil there is.

Strider303Salt Lake City, UT

July 23, 2014 10:53 a.m.

As to those who chain or otherwise secure themselves to equipment or fixed
objects I say let them be. Do not do anything just wait, and wait and wait.
Nature will force the issue.

We sometimes react too swiftly in these
cases. Just let them sit or stand out in the hot sun and wait until it a full
bladder requires some action. Officials are not under any obligation, IMO, to
cut chains or release the protester. Let them sit or stand chained by their own
actions until they decide to unchain themselves. Then arrest them.

People who chain or secure themselves to immovable objects to the point of
soiling themselves might require a psychiatric evaluation as to their mental
state. They should be sent to the state hospital in Provo for an evaluation.

Unleashing a dog is not provocation because the animal is under voice
control, and will only respond if it senses danger. The implication is to then
do what the nice police officer tells you to do.

fish8Vernal, UT

July 23, 2014 9:57 a.m.

I love that these protesters fill their cars with gas to drive hundreds of miles
to protest the production of oil.

LagomorphSalt Lake City, UT

July 23, 2014 9:39 a.m.

I participated in nonviolent civil disobedience protests of nuclear testing at
the Nevada Test Site in the 1980s. The organizers, many of them faith-based,
had high standards for nonviolence and transparency. The details of the action
were determined by consensus among all participants. While there was always a
contingent that wanted to infiltrate the NTS or flee arrest, they were reined in
by the consensus process. The activists subscribed to the philosophy that civil
disobedience should be focused and completely nonviolent-- we offered ourselves
freely to the arresting officers; most considered even going limp a form of
violence (let alone fleeing or resisting arrest). Organizers would cooperate
with law enforcement and notify them of their plans in advance of the action
(time, place, how many people, how many would cross the line at a time, etc.).
The point was to raise awareness, delay actions at the NTS, and get cases into
the judicial system, not to interfere with the livelihoods of the workers or
destroy property.

It's disappointing to see the Peaceful
Uprising protesters escalating the disobedience to include resisting arrest. It
detracts from the message and is contrary to Thoreauvian, Gandhian, and Kingian
strategies.

Cletus from CoalvilleCoalville, UT

July 23, 2014 9:26 a.m.

"I believe the land involved is Federal land is it not? So the protesters
have every right to be there."

Look up the definition of
"lease" and "trespass" if you really don't understand how
it works and need an answer to that question.

"The public outcry
and pushback against this project will not stop. The fight to end this project
will not stop..."

Crickets --

Happy Valley HereticOrem, UT

July 23, 2014 8:22 a.m.

Protesting by civil disobedience is as patriotic as say a "Tea Party."
Yet, those who proclaim to be patriots on these comments daily, seem to think
"Freedom of Speech," only applies to "Money" donated by
Corporate "People."

Some people care more about
"Ideas" than others, and passionately spend there day's harassing
folks at planned parenthood, or perhaps a mink farm.

Marxist is
correct, this is federal land, Not Utah's, so the "go home" is
childish and contributes nothing to the conversation.

Not everyone
can afford to buy a politician, so some must draw attention in other ways. This
is a way provided by our laws to do so, and they were willing to be arrested for
their cause, to bring attention to the problem, as they see it.

These
are today's patriots. I did notice they weren't all armed to the
9's like the "Bundites" or Tea Party Militia, huh?

FlashbackKearns, UT

July 23, 2014 7:01 a.m.

I hope that they are arrested,tried,found guilty, and then summarily deported
from Utah after serving their time. I found Ms. Lee's comments to be
comical at best.

marxistSalt Lake City, UT

July 22, 2014 11:42 p.m.

"These protesters need to go back to the many different states they came
from. Preferably to remain there, get a real job, and mind their own business,
..."

I say good for them, and I believe the land involved is
Federal land is it not? So the protesters have every right to be there.

Heidi T.Farmington, UT

July 22, 2014 9:16 p.m.

I just read about this. I was at work. Who pays the protestors and who buys
their food, clothing, and necessities? Do they "work" for a living or
just block roads where other people work?

deseret peterobertson, Wy

July 22, 2014 9:03 p.m.

keep them in jail for a while -- Make them pay for the expense of arresting them
-- You break the law -- you pay

byronbcaSalt Lake City, UT

July 22, 2014 8:59 p.m.

I don't have a problem with protesters being arrested for stepping over the
line, I also don't have a problem with these protesters escalating things
to the point where they have to be arrested.

I do have a problem with
tar sands mining in an ecologically sensitive place with little access to water
and heavily disputed water rights. I'm not opposed to mining, it's a
necessary evil, but this mine makes zero logistical sense. From a cost analysis
perspective it's unlikely the mine will ever turn a profit.

Tar
Sands mining is perhaps the most environmentally destructive form of mining
known to man and when it fails I wonder who is going to flip the bill to restore
the land? If history tells us anything the smart money is on Utah tax payers.

DN SubscriberCottonwood Heights, UT

July 22, 2014 5:45 p.m.

Well done to the Law Enforcement officers who showed great restraint dealing
with experienced rabble rousers who make a career out of protesting various
projects on "environmental and social justice" grounds.

These
protesters need to go back to the many different states they came from.
Preferably to remain there, get a real job, and mind their own business, and let
Utah and Utahns manage ours.